Posts

Other flowers in our garden in late March 2024

Image
My previous post was about the winter-flowering aloes in our garden winding down for the season. While they do provide most of the flower power at this time of year, they aren’t the only players. There are pops of color all over the garden, courtesy of South African bulbs, California natives, assorted perennials, and succulents other than aloes. Sometimes I forget I planted something, and it surprises me with an unexpected burst of flowers. ↷ Lachenalia is a large genus of bulbs from Namibia and South Africa. They’re still a regrettably rare sight in American gardens and deserve to be grown more widely. The most common species is Lachenalia aloides , especially var. quadricolor . I started in 2016 with two bulbs and now have a nice clump. In fact, I’ve started to divide it and share the bounty with friends. Lachenalia aloides var. quadricolor Lachenalia aloides var. quadricolor A couple of other lachenalia: Lachenalia aloides var. vanzylae Lachenalia mutabilis Lachenalia mutabilis

The last of the aloes

Image
As we approach the end of March, aloe flowering season is winding down. Even though the peak is behind us, there’s still plenty to see – and a few aloes are just now gearing up to bloom. This post is a collection of photos I took over the last few weeks. We’ve had the most beautiful spring weather, perfect for gardening and for greenhouse building . But the warm and sunny days also accelerated the demise of the aloe flowers that had been hanging on. Maybe I should reward my aloes with a bit of fertilizer now so they’ll be in great shape for next year’s bloom season! Aloe × spinosissima at the base of the ponytail palm trio Aloe × spinosissima (right), with Oscularia caulescens (pink-flowering, left) Aloe aculeata × esculenta . The flowers belong to the bluish plant at the bottom even though it looks like they come from the one on top ( Aloe lukeana ). ↷ My favorite aloe this season has been a hybrid called ‘Maui Gem’, a cross between Aloe mawii and Aloe globuligemma . Like its par